Cap badge, officer, 9th Bengal Cavalry, 1861-1886

Silver plate badge in the form of an eight-pointed star with an Imperial Crown. A garter inscribed with the regimental title, 'Bengal Cavalry', surrounds a red enamel centre with the regimental number in Roman numerals, 'IX', and a scroll below carries the battle honours 'Delhi' and Lucknow'.

'Hodson's Horse', a regiment raised by William Hodson during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), was split into three regiments in 1858. The 3rd Regiment was disbanded in 1861, and the other two regiments became the 9th and 10th Bengal Cavalry. The 9th served in Malta in 1878 and in the Sudan in 1885, where they adopted the lance.

The 9th Regiment of Bengal Lancers went on to serve on the Western Front and in Palestine during World War One (1914-1918). In 1921, the British decided to cut down on the number of cavalry regiments, and re-amalgamated the two as the 10th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers (Hodson's Horse). The regiment was re-constituted as the 4th Horse in 1966, and continues to exist under the same name in the Indian Army today.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.